Chris pleased to be back in the pre-season work
Goalkeeper Chris Weale has welcomed the start of pre-season training with the Shrewsbury Town squad beginning to work towards their League One opener against MK Dons on August 3.
The squad, who reported back yeasterday, have undergone a double training session today with Weale aware the hard work is necessary to make sure they hit the ground running when it really matters.
"We've gone a little bit more scientific this pre-season which will hopefully put us in good stead for the season," said Weale. "It's very structured and it's about getting us match fit.
Weale and his team mates are looking forward to the pre-season matches, particuarly the friendly against Turkish giants Galatasaray at the Greenhous Meadow on Saturday, July 13.
"It's very exciting and it will be good to test ourselves against them," said Weale, who was player of the year last season.
"It will be quite good because MK Dons, if they play a similar style to what they did last year, that was similar to Galatasaray so it will be a good warm up for our first league match of the season.
"You want to test yourself against the best players so it will be a good test.
"We're focused on the season going forward and we want to do well this season so let's not get too carried away with playing Galatasaray because it's going to be a very exciting season.
"Yes, it will be a great game for the fans to enjoy and a great game for us to play in, but the most important thing is for us to get match fit and ready for the MK Dons game."
Weale added he was no stranger to facing continental opposition and it's something he always enjoys.
He said: "Gary Johnson always used to take us abroad at both Yeovil and Bristol City in pre-season so we would go to Latvia, Belgium, Germany, quite a few places. It was the same with Leicester.
"I've always been used to playing foreign opposition during pre-season so it will be good."
Tickets are now available for the Galatasaray friendly - to books yours, click here